Roy and Beth Kibbe from near Mulberry, Ark., have taken full advantage of the second chances they’ve been given. Today, they raise around a dozen Santa Gertrudis and Black Angus cross cattle on 15 acres in eastern Crawford County, but six years ago, Roy’s diagnosis of cancer put everything else on hold.
Because the Kibbes were uncertain about what the future might bring, they sold off a large chunk of the land they owned and several of the cattle once they found out about Roy’s illness.
“I had to battle cancer,” said Roy. “We had this whole section of land, and had as many as 30 cattle, but we sold out most of the herd when I got sick.”
“We were building the herd, but the uncertainty of what happened caused us to sell,” said Beth. “We just didn’t know.”
Roy has been cancer free for three years, allowing the Kibbes to refocus on their cattle, their family and their plans to start a church near Alma.
“If I had 100 acres, I’d try to get more cattle,” said Roy “But I’m about where I want to stay. Our other interests are in our ministry.” Both Roy and Beth sometimes preach at the Oak Bower Christian Center not far from their home.
Roy said that he’s stuck with Santa Gertrudis because of their temperament and hardiness.
“I’ve always liked them,” said Roy. “I’ve always liked their disposition. They’re not rowdy. When we had 15 big Santa Gertrudis cows, I could work them by myself.”
The speed with which Santa Gertrudis cattle put on weight is another attractive quality of the breed for the Kibbes.
“Santa Gertrudis are about 3/8ths Milking Shorthorn. They are good milkers,” said Roy. “Last year, we sold a cow that had a three-month-old calf. When that calf got pulled off the momma cow, it weighed in at 385 pounds.”
Roy’s plans are to cross his Santa Gertrudis bull, Chubby, with some Black Angus heifers, to combine the best characteristics of both breeds.
“That’ll put black hide on the calves, and it’s the black hide that sells them,” said Roy. “But with this cross, in the heat of summer, these calves will be out eating grass while other black cattle will be in the shade.”
Roy said that the heat tolerance of the Santa Gertrudis combined with the breed’s resistance to disease contributes to the almost hands-off approach to ranching that the Kibbes have to use. Roy and Beth both work for a construction company in Little Rock, Ark., about 135 miles east of Mulberry, and find themselves away from their cattle most of the week.
“We go down on Sunday afternoon to Little Rock, and come back on Friday,” said Roy. “I put out salt and meal for the herd.”
“Our cattle are not fed daily,” said Beth. “We’ve got our pasture, and put out hay, but we’re not here a lot.”
Both Roy and Beth are glad to have neighbors who volunteer to check in on their herd while they are off at work. “We’ve got a neighbor who’s willing to break ice for us in the winter,” said Roy.
Surviving cancer isn’t the only second chance Roy got. His 17-year marriage to Beth is another.
Roy and Beth dated during their high school days in Sallisaw, Okla., but when Roy joined the Army and got sent to Germany, their lives took separate paths. They ended up married to other people, Roy for 25 years and Beth for 24. But when both their first marriages ended, Roy and Beth ran across each other again, and this time it stuck.
“We met for the second time on November 17, 1994, and have been together ever since. We say ‘Thank God for second chances,’” said Beth.
Between them, Roy and Beth have six children, and seven grandchildren. Out of those, their adopted son, James, helps with the ranch. They also hope that grandsons, Drake and Cole, get into showing cattle soon.
Beth would like the chance to help teach other youngsters beyond her own family about cattle ranching.
“Maybe we could get the schools in Mulberry and Ozark, Ark., to send their kids out so they could see what a working ranch is like,” said Beth. “That would be right down our alley.”
Whatever the future holds, Roy and Beth look to meet it with hard work, love and faith in God.
“I just want us to work as long as the Good Lord will let us,” said Roy.
